Supreme Court directs SpiceJet to pay Rs 270 crores to Kalanithi Maran

NEW DELHI: In the on-going tussle between the current and former promoters of budget airline SpiceJet, the Supreme Court on Monday said the bank guarantee of Rs 270 crore of the airline must be encashed immediately and the money be paid to media baron Kalanithi Maran and his Kal Airways towards dues from the arbitral award of Rs 578 crore.

A bench of Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud and justices P S Narasimha and J B Pardiwala also directed the Gurugram based airline to pay within three months Rs 75 crore to Maran and Kal Airways towards the interest component on the arbitral award.

SpiceJet in a statement said the remaining amount of Rs 270 crore is reserved with the company in cash against which a bank guarantee has been given. This amount of Rs 270 crore will be comfortably discharged as per the direction of the court, it added. “Further, the additional amount of Rs 75 crore will be paid within the period of three months as per the directions of the SC,” the airline said.

The matter has its root to a dispute arising out of the non-issuance of warrants in favour of Maran after the transfer of ownership to Ajay Singh, the controlling shareholder of SpiceJet. Amid a financial crisis, Maran and Kal Airways had transferred their entire 35.04 crore shares in SpiceJet, 58.46% stake, to its co-founder Singh in February 2015 for just Rs 2.